EU Adopts Harmonised Rules on Recycled Content in Beverage Bottles

The European Union has adopted a long-awaited implementing decision establishing harmonised rules for calculating, verifying, and reporting recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles.

Chemical Recycling Europe (CRE) welcomes this decision as a key step towards credible and consistent recycled-content targets across Europe. Until now, the absence of a common EU methodology has led to fragmentation, uncertainty, and diverging interpretations across Member States. The new rules provide much-needed clarity and legal certainty for both authorities and market actors.

Importantly, the decision confirms that chemical recycling feedstocks can contribute to recycled content, recognising the role of complementary recycling technologies in dealing with complex waste streams and supporting the scale-up of circular plastics.

By aligning with the Waste Framework Directive and introducing robust verification requirements, the rules strengthen transparency, trust, and comparability, while reducing the risk of greenwashing. They also send a clear investment signal across the plastics value chain. 

Read CRE’s full reaction and detailed analysis in the position paper

Source

Chemical Recycling Europe, press release, 2026-02.

Supplier

Chemical Recycling Europe
European Union

Share